Separately, Defence Minister Peter Dutton revealed on Sunday he would announce which country Australia had selected to make its nuclear boats within the next “couple of months”.

Also separately, Mr Morrison will say the rules-based international order is “under assault”.

“We face the spectre of a transactional world, devoid of principle, accountability and transparency, where state sovereignty, territorial integrity and liberty are surrendered for respite from coercion and intimidation, or economic entrapment dressed up as economic reward,” he will say.

“Australia strongly supports Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. We condemn Russia’s abhorrent actions in the strongest possible terms, as a gross violation of international law and an assault on freedom.”

China’s challenge to the US in the Asia-Pacific region is rising, and Australia Defence Association executive director Neil James said Australia should prioritise its defence capability over cost considerations.

“With the way the international situation’s deteriorating, you’ve just got to take risks because you don’t have an alternative,” he said. “The biggest single risk is not having them when we need them.”

Mr Morrison announced in September that Australia would ditch its $90 billion deal with French company Naval Group to build 12 conventional submarines in South Australia.

Experts have questioned if the new nuclear vessels would be built in South Australia, raising a prickly issue for the federal government over potential job losses in marginal Adelaide seats. Mr Dutton said last year the “intention is to build the nuclear-powered submarines in South Australia”.

The government said last year it would conduct an 18-month review before committing to buy either the US Virginia Class or UK Astute class submarines.

Mr Dutton has said the AUKUS submarines would be in the water by 2038 when existing Collins-class submarines are scheduled to go out of service.

John Blaxland, professor of defence studies at the Australian National University, questioned if Australia could build the nuclear submarines on time, and argued that the government should invest in US boat-building capacity and ensure Australia got nuclear submarines as soon as possible.

” I think there’s a growing sense of inevitability that making the boats in Australia will blow up the time frame,” Professor Blaxland said.

Mr Dutton also hinted on Sunday at further investment in cyber security in the federal budget, to be released on March 29.

Last week, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg signalled the March 29 budget would contain extra defence and national security commitments as he noted the government’s increase in overall spending to 2 per cent of GDP. “We have outlined a very significant defence project pipeline and we will continue to build on that pipeline. We will continue to invest heavily in national security,” he said.

Opposition defence spokesman Brendan O’Connor said the AUKUS alliance and submarines deal should be a bipartisan policy, given they would extend across several terms of government.

Mr O’Connor said it was “appalling” that the government had not briefed Labor on developments, and that he had requested details about Mr Dutton’s remarks on Sunday.

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“Given we are so close to an election, it’s in Australia’s national interests that the alternative government is kept fully briefed,” he said.

“This isn’t the first time Peter Dutton has floated faster time frames in the media, but we’re yet to see anything backing it up.

Mr James said the US and UK do not have spare operational submarines to lease to Australia, or the capacity to build more vessels, above their current needs, which could be deployed in Australia before the 2038 deadline identified by Mr Dutton.

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